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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22579306">What Was the Point?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelociraptorAddict/pseuds/VelociraptorAddict'>VelociraptorAddict</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Invader Zim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gen, Letters, POV First Person, Suicide</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:47:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22579306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelociraptorAddict/pseuds/VelociraptorAddict</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a One Shot: Dib writes a suicide note. Zim writes letters to his dead rival.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>ZADF - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Was the Point?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>EDIT: Thanks to my cat *glares at him* it appears I am missing half a sentence. This has been corrected. I apologize for any inconvenience.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dear world,</p><p>You know, I used to believe in the Loch Ness monster, and Mothman, and ghosts, and Santa, and the tooth fairy. Don't get me wrong, I still do for the most part, but a lot has changed in a relatively short time. But one thing I never really believed in was Aliens. </p><p>Well, I mean, I guess on some level I knew that there had to be life out there, in space, but nothing nearly as complex or intelligent as us. </p><p>Just some bacteria or slime mold or maybe some plants, way out there in space...but if you asked me a few months ago if I believed in Aliens smart enough to travel to earth and disguise themselves as one of us? I would have said it was a bit too far fetched and just a simple fairy tale!</p><p>Then our class got a new kid.</p><p>He said it was just a skin condition. And everyone else believed it. But I saw the truth. He said he was just allergic to the cafeteria food. And everyone believed it. But I saw the truth. He said that he was a normal Earth child. And everyone else believed it. But I saw the truth. I saw Zim for what he really was. And no one believed me.</p><p>It was infuriating.</p><p>Knowing the truth, seeing it right in front of me, screaming at everyone else to just open their eyes and<em> think </em> logically and they would see it too! But no one listened, not the other students, not the teacher, not my sister, not my dad, not even the Swollen Eye believed me. And I had proof! I had pictures of Zim doing weird alien things, of his little robot dog minion thing in and out of costume, of his weird glowing green house. I had proof of his failed plans to take over the world, pictures and videos of all his failed attempts (failed because <em> I </em> was the one stopping him!). I had proof that I was the sole person stopping him from <em> Invading </em>Earth. And no one believed me!</p><p>It stung...no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried to reveal the truth about him. No one would take me seriously, and it <em> hurt </em>.</p><p>After almost a year of just the two of us being at each other’s throats, Zim finally seemed to snap. He unleashed his biggest plot for world domination yet. He transported the entire planet Earth into the flight path of his leader’s massive ship in the hopes they would finally notice him, recognize him, praise him as a great Irken Invader.</p><p>Thanks to a weird set of circumstances, my dad and sister both ended up helping me reverse what Zim did and returned Earth back to it’s rightful orbit around the Sun.</p><p>But of course, even after all of that, no one believed me about Zim. They all just said it was a weird dream or a movie they must have seen and just forgot the name of it. <em> Idiots </em>!!</p><p>How can everyone else be so stupid! So completley unaware and blind to what is right in front of them! How am I the only one who sees the Alien!</p><p>Enough is enough. If I can't get anyone else to see the truth, then what's the point? <em> What </em>is the point of saving humanity if they all just call me a loser, a freak, a weirdo...if they all just call me crazy. What's the point in trying to expose Zim if no one will believe me? What's the point...of anything? Zim's plans never really work, am I even the reason for that? I feel that most of them failed cause of his own incompetence, or his run down tech or his evil robot dog thing...was I ever the reason Zim failed? Have I ever actually saved the world?</p><p>Sure, there was that one time, with the florpus...but Zim wouldn't have even had the technology to build it if I hadn't accidently given him the keys to Membrane Labs. And there was that other time, where Zim managed to steal a bunch of peoples organs...he wouldn't have done that if I hadn't told him the nurse would notice he was lacking them and would report it. And there was that time, where there was a gateway to another dimension in my head...Zim was actually the hero that day...</p><p>What was I even trying to say?</p><p>What was even the point?</p><p>Years of fighting. Years of pain. Years of ridicule. And all for what? Nothing. That's what. We're all right back where we started. No one believes me. Zim is still free to do whatever he wants. I can try and stop him...but more often than not he ends up foiling himself.</p><p>So what's the point?</p><p>Gaz hates me...she cares more about pizza and video games than any of my interests.</p><p>Dad's never around, and he's never cared. Yeah, maybe we had a bit of a bonding moment during all the excitement with the florpus, but once everything settled down he went back to being the same old dad. Absent. Only caring about science and not even trying to understand any of my interests.</p><p>Zim seems to be the only one who sees me...and he hates me.</p><p>So…</p><p>Maybe…</p><p>The world would be better without me? After all, Zim seems pretty capable of failing on his own. And, maybe, if I'm not around... he'll manage to expose himself with one of his failed plans and everyone will finally see the truth. And they'll all know that I was right all along!</p><p>They don't need me…</p><p>They don't want me…</p><p>I'm so tired of fighting against Zim.</p><p>Against my dad.</p><p>Against society.</p><p>... against life…</p><p> </p><p>Agent Mothman </p><p>aka </p><p>Dib Membrane,</p><p> </p><p>Signing out,</p><p>Permanently.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Dear Dib-stink,</p><p>I went to your funeral today.</p><p>Hyumans are so strange in their customs. Standing around, talking about the corps while it sits out in the open, rotting.</p><p>Irkens know how to properly dispose of our dead. Most simply get incinerated or blasted into space as canon fodder with our PAKs recycled to be attached to a new smeet. Their death is not drawn out with speeches, there is no mourning.</p><p>There are no tears.</p><p>Zim is sure if you were still around, you would be able to explain the cultural reasons for these customs…</p><p>The Religious man read your suicide note outloud during the cerimony.</p><p>Did you really think Zim hated you? I always thought we had more of a friendly rivalry. Battling wits, brawns, and wills against each other everyday.</p><p>But I guess...Irkens and Humans don’t see friendship the same way…</p><p>You never explained that to me. </p><p>I miss you.</p><p>The Tallest were sucked into the florpus hole. Irk is scrambling for new leadership. With the whole crew of the Massive missing, the Empire is in chaos. Zim has lost the will to Invade.</p><p>What is the point? If you’re not here to battle me?</p><p>What is the point, if the Tallest are gone?</p><p>No one gives Zim the attention I deserve. </p><p>Since your death I haven’t gone back to skool. What is the point? You are not there, and I have long since passed the need for such trivial information gathering. Keef and a few other kids knocked on my door last week...wanting to know if Zim was okay.</p><p>They thought we were best friends.</p><p>They wanted to make sure Zim did not follow you to the afterlife.</p><p>Foolish hyumans! Zim would do no such thing! I AM THE MIGHTY ZIM!</p><p>...but then. I thought the same of you Dib-stink. With your giant, oversized head. Your constant fighting spirit. I always thought you’d die at the hands of Zim. I never thought you’d go at the hands of yourself.</p><p>What is Zim to do now?</p><p>Without the Empire...without the Tallest...without you?</p><p>What is there for Zim now?</p><p> </p><p>Elite Irken Invader Zim</p><p>Signing off</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Dear Dib-stink,</p><p>It’s been two months since your funeral. Irk has all but fallen. There were more than a dozen Irkens tall enough to be considered Tallest. Civil war has broken out.</p><p>Zim is stranded now on Earth.</p><p>Your horrible sister Gaz has come to visit several times. </p><p>GIR and minimoose seem to have grown fond of her. </p><p>She and Zim talk long into the night about you. We...we talk about our favorite memories.</p><p>Hers seems to be those rare times where you would drag her into the woods looking for ‘bigfeet’ or ‘fairies’ or other such nonsense creatures. But Gaz said she remembers those times as the rare occasions where she wasn’t glued to one of her games and...she regrets how proud she was at the time to admit to you that she enjoyed those outings.</p><p>She wishes she could go on one of those outings with you again.</p><p>Zim misses our battles. There were so many good ones. I can’t just pick one. </p><p>Zim regrets that you thought Zim hated you during that time...if-if Zim could do it again. I would explain to you how much Irkens love sparing.</p><p>If I could talk to you again...I would tell you how much I respected you for how hard you fought for your planet.</p><p> </p><p>Elite Irken Ex-Invader</p><p>Zim</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Dear Dib,</p><p>It’s the one year anniversary of your death. Your suicide.</p><p>Gaz and I still talk almost every week. Your father...is talking about cloning you. </p><p>Zim is unsure how I feel about that.</p><p>Gaz explained to me that hyuman cloning is very different than how Irkens do it. The clone would look like you, have the same DNA markers exactly, but it would be no more than a mindless smeet. None of your memories. None of your personality.</p><p>We can bring your body back. But your ‘soul’ is lost forever.</p><p>Too bad hyumans don’t have PAKS…</p><p>Too bad it’s been too long for Zim to copy and download your feeble organic brain…</p><p>I miss you.</p><p>I miss you and our fights and your stupid giant head with your weird hair and stupid glasses and dumb flappy coat.</p><p>Why did you do it Dib?</p><p>Zim knows you wrote a whole note...but were those really the reasons? Just because none of the other hyumans would listen to you about Zim?</p><p>Is your death really Zim’s fault?</p><p>The thought hurts my spooch…</p><p>Missing you hurts my spooch so much.</p><p>Zim wishes there was a way to bring you back.</p><p>Why did you do it Dib?</p><p> </p><p>Irken</p><p>Zim</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What started as a first person POV from Dib quickly took a dark turn ^_^;<br/>When I sat down to write this (months ago, I think back in early November of '19) I was planning on it being a post-florpus enemy to friends type of fic; but I guess Dib had other plans...<br/>Very dark plans (I think I was reading a lot of angst fics at the time ^_^; )<br/>I took a break after writing this, then I started writing "Chomp" (end of December '19).<br/>Today (after hitting a small wall in "Chomp") I sat down and reread Dib's letter, then, suddenly all of Zim's responses were sitting there on my computer screen.</p><p>https://the-suicide-effect.tumblr.com/post/178430139837/list-of-international-suicide-hotlines<br/>For those who need it, I'll leave this here.<br/>I promise I'm not going through anything personally. But a co-worker of mine's son attempted suicide last night (He's fine, we left work early to go pick him up from his apartment and bring him to her house (long story but my co-worker doesn't have a car so I've been driving her the past month) and he's surrounded by family now, so he's being watched and showed that he is cared for) it reminded me of this letter and I guess that's where the muse came from.<br/>Suicide is never an answer, not only do you cut a life short, but you ruin all the lives left behind. It is not worth it.<br/>There is no 'point'. Living is the point. So, please, keep going.<br/>No matter how tough it may seem now, it does get better. You just have to push through and seek help.<br/>Please call any of the numbers above if you need to.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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